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The Penny Dreadful was an English fiction magazine which was published in the 19th century.

It had vulgar lurid serial stories which were serialised in parts over a number of weeks with each part not surprisingly costing one old penny.

This term came to mean a variety of publications that featured cheap sensational fiction, The Penny Dreadful were printed on cheap pulp, thus the phrase ‘pulp fiction’ and much like The Tabloids were aimed primarily at working class adolescents, so some 150 years (or so) later renowned director Sam Mendes is set to direct an eight-part TV horror drama called (you guessed it) Penny Dreadful which will be set 1880 and filmed in London.

According to David Nevins “It’s very realistic, it’s very grounded… It’s very psychological and highly erotic.”

It will possibly feature characters are Dorian Gray, Dr. Frankenstein, and maybe Jack The Ripper.